RideLondon Classique remains in Women’s WorldTour after television kerfuffle
Three-day event failed to meet WorldTour requirement for live broadcasting in 2022 but commits to coverage for May 2023 race.
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RideLondon Classique will be part of the Women’s WorldTour in 2023.
The three-day race’s ranking had been in doubt after it this year failed to meet UCI WorldTour regulations requiring daily live broadcasting.
Event chiefs appear to have since pulled out the stops to guarantee television time for the new year.
“As the organizer has provided evidence of contractual commitments to broadcast all stages of the race live on TV in 2023, the RideLondon Classique is back on the calendar for the world’s most prestigious events in women’s cycling,” the UCI confirmed in a press statement this week.
The 2022 edition of the Classique caused a kerfuffle when it failed to meet UCI ruling that all top-tier events provide at least 45 minutes of coverage of every stage.
Only one of the three days of racing made the airwaves and WorldTour racing went unseen. Riders railed at the limited coverage and described feeling “disrespected” as the outage “put the sport going backward.”
Also read: Riders fuming at lack of live coverage for London Classique
The UCI promptly suspended the British race’s WorldTour status and made its future registration conditional on the provision of proof of compliance with the requirements for TV broadcasting.
Organizers’ recent guarantee of television time for 2023 booked the Classique into the WorldTour calendar for May 26-28.
Sprinter ace Lorena Wiebes dominated the 2022 edition with three wins in three fast-finishes.